Airlines IAG and easyJet hit by Lufthansa profit warning

• British Airways owner International Airlines Group has slumped 5.3pc – the single worst-performing share in the FTSE 100 – after rival Lufthansa sounded a profit warning that has sent the German airline down 10pc. The bad news has also hit low-cost carrier easyJet, which is off 3.3pc, making it the second-heaviest faller in London’s blue-chip index.

• The wider FTSE 100 has fallen 32 points to 6,841, pulled lower in part by Vodafone and Johnson Matthey, which are both trading ex-dividend. The pound has also strengthened following encouraging jobs data, which is weighing on the blue-chip exporters.

• Rolls-Royce has lost 2.3pc amid disappointment that Emirates Airline has scrapped an order for 70 A350 jets. As a result, the engine-maker’s order book will shrink by £2.6bn.

• But J Sainsbury has advanced 1.9pc, despite reporting a 1.1pc decline in like-for-like sales (LFL), excluding fuel, in the 12 weeks to June 7. The fall was not as bad as the market had feared, and Oriel Securities told clients: “Whilst negative LFL is never good news there are signs that Sainsbury’s is re-establishing its lead over its quoted peers. The shares have the most appeal in the superstores sector.”

• National Grid is another riser in a weak market, boosted 0.5pc by an analyst upgrade to “overweight” at HSBC. The broker said: “Grid is delivering value creation and regulatory outperformance in its regulated UK transmission and distribution businesses”.